Visitor Centres

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION CENTERS

Troodos Visitor Center

The Troodos Visitor Center is located 200 meters west of the Troodos main square, next to the "Dolphin" Tourist Information Center. It is connected to the square via a paved pathway. The center aims, through its exhibits and its printed and audio-visual material, to highlight the importance and uniqueness of the Troodos National Forest Park and to provide the visitor with information on the flora, fauna, habitats, environment and geology of the park as well as information on the various forest recreational facilities and services provided in the park.

The center’s reception hosts a large model of the Troodos National Forest Park. There is also an information box and a small sales outlet with books, cards and commemorative t-shirts. Additionally, the Center includes an exhibition room with a large number of exhibits including representations of habitats and species, with photographs (current and historical), explanatory texts and references as well as old tools and visual material on the park’s management, ecology and geology. Finally, there is a specially designed lecture- and film hall in which a ten-minute film about the Troodos National Forest Park can be viewed.

The Troodos Visitor Center can accommodate groups of up to 40 people, and has an access for the disabled. For groups, a guided tour of the Center is conducted by the officer in charge. It is preferable to notify the forestry officer in advance in order to ensure the availability of this service.

Around the Center there is a nature trail of 200 meters, where the visitor can see important elements of the flora and geology of the Troodos National Forest Park.

The Troodos Visitor Center operates daily - except Saturday and Sunday - from 09:00 to 14:30 and has an entry fee of € 1 for adults. Entrance is free for children under 6 years of age.

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Troodos Visitor Center	Representation of a habitat in the Center

The Environmental Information centre is located on the north-eastern edge of Agios Georgios Athalassa Park, on the corner of Kyrenia and Athalassa avenues, just opposite to the west part of the University Campus. The centre aims to highlight the various aspects of the environment of the National Forest Park of Athalassa and to inform the visitor about its importance and the recreational opportunities it offers. It also highlights selected aspects of the environment of the wider Mesaorra plain. It includes exhibition rooms, a lecture hall and a small shop.

Since the establishment of the centre in 2000 through the environmental education programs of the Ministry of Education and Culture, it has been renamed the Centre for Environmental Information and Education. This significantly upgraded its function as an environmental education centre for students of all education levels. Its establishment in the framework of the DIA.PEREK project involved in the "Greece-Cyprus 2007-2013" Transnational Cooperation Program, maintains the centre and enriches the efforts for proper environmental education. The operation of the animal park improves the value of the Park, making it an attractive place for visitors.

Outside there is a small botanical garden with native species of the Park and the Mesaoria Plain as well as representative geological samples.

The Athalassa centre operates daily - except Saturdays and Sundays - from 08:00 until 14:30 and has an entrance fee of €1. For students visiting the Centre through the Pedagogical Institute and for children under 6, admission is free of charge.

The Athalassa Information and Education Center	Exhibits of the Center

Information:

Center for Environmental Information and Education of Athalassa: +35722462906, +35722462943.

District Forest Officer of Nicosia, Larnaka and Famagusta: tel. +35722403739, +35722403740, +35722403741.

Headquarters - Environmental Officer, tel. +35722805527

E-mail: nicosiadiv@fd.moa.gov.cy

Kavo Greco Information and Education Center

The Center for Environmental Information and Education of Kavo Greco, opened its gates in May 2017. It was funded by the Rural Development Plan and the state. Although the Department of Forests had the responsibility for its creation, other public authorities such as the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research and the Department of Geological Surveys have played an important role. The building is the result of an architectural competition and has been designed by the architectural office “Marios Economides and Maria Akkelidou”. It also won first prize at the State Architecture Awards, 2016. The building is built to sit harmoniously within the environment and be incorporated within it. It includes all the necessary infrastructure related to environmental awareness and education, with a main subject of reference to the natural environment of Kavo Greco. The rooms include a screening room, a classroom with workshops, offices, a small canteen, a showroom with three large aquariums and several other auxiliary areas. The content of the exhibition hall has been designed by Dr Elena Pogiatzi-Richter and includes elements of the abiotic and living environment in the Greater Kavo Greco area with strong references to the sea.
The centre is staffed by experienced forestry officers as well as qualified teachers, in collaboration with the Department of Forests and the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Information:

Working hours:

1/5 - 31/10 - 10:00-18:30

1/11 - 30/4 - 10:00-14:00 (closed on weekends)

Center for Environmental Information and Education Cavo Greco:
+35723814412

District Forest Officer of Nicosia, Larnaka and Famagusta: tel. +35722403739, +35722403740, +35722403741.

Headquarters - Environmental Officer, tel. +35722805527

E-mail: nicosiadiv@fd.moa.gov.cy